UNAMID/Mohamad Almahady /  Escorted team from UNAMID’s Governance and Community Stabilization Section is pictured on its way to Birka area, North Darfur, to conduct a peace conference for farmers and herders, on 2 February 2018.

DIPLOMATIC TIMES STAFF

The establishment of a new transitional Government in Khartoum on 17 August creates an opportunity to restore long-term stability to Darfur, senior United Nations and the African Union officials told the Security Council this week. Smail Chergui, the African Union’s Commissioner for Peace and Security said that, at this critical juncture, the international community must come up with a coordinated approach to see how best to support the peace process and ensure inclusivity and a successful outcome.  It is also imperative that those parties remaining outside the peace process are persuaded to join it, he added.  “The current political environment and the changes taking place in Sudan provide a unique opportunity for ending the armed conflicts and for achieving comprehensive and lasting peace in Darfur and Sudan as a whole,” he said.  “The international community should seize this opportunity to demand a constructive engagement of all concerned actors.”

Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddig, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Sudan to the United Nations, addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Sudan and South Sudan. 26 August 2019 (UN Photo/Manuel Elias)

South Africa  Ambassador Jerry Matthews Matjila welcomed the power-sharing agreement and other political developments in Khartoum, saying the people of Sudan have yearned for peace for too long and sacrificed too dearly.  He said their aspirations for peace, stability, reconciliation, development and prosperity must translate into tangible dividends on the ground.  He added, however, while the situation in Darfur continues to improve, there are still remnants of insecurity that find expressions in the form of human rights and humanitarian challenges.  South Africa looks forward to the joint report of the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, due next month, which will provide recommendations on the appropriate course of action regarding the drawdown of UNAMID, he said.

In the ensuing debate, Council members hailed the agreement signed on 17 August by the Transitional Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change, under which the joint military-civilian Sovereign Council will govern Sudan for 39 months, after which elections will be held.  They also praised the mediation efforts of the African Union and Ethiopia, supported by the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Several speakers cautioned, however, that Darfur has yet to attain lasting peace and that UNAMID’s withdrawal must not leave a security vacuum.  Côte d’Ivoire’s representative hailed the mediation and good-offices efforts of Ethiopia, the African Union and the United Nations, with support from IGAD, as a virtuous example of preventative diplomacy, while cautioning, however, that the security situation in Darfur remains fragile.  Reconciliation and sustainable peace will not be possible until the guns fall silent and dialogue takes root, he emphasized.